Newsletter March 2014

FareShares meeting, Saturday March 15.

FareShares meets on the 15th of each month. This month, we shall meet in the Pullens Centre at 184 Crampton Street, where food will be served from 6:30pm. All prospective volunteers and former comrades are welcome to join us.

If you’d like to become involved with FareShares, or you used to be involved, this is an opportunity to meet the committed members of our co-operative and/or catch up with old friends over a bowl of hot food. Please bring salads & breads, puddings & cake to share.

On that afternoon, Saturday 15th, there will be a training session for recent volunteers, who will close the shop at 5pm. They will cash up and clean down – don’t forget to leave the Infinty boxes out for their driver to collect! – before coming to join us, upstairs at the Pullens Centre.

FareShares monthly business meeting – which is open to current members of the collective only – will take place separately, in the downstairs room, from 7:30pm. Non-members and those members who do not wish to participate in the meeting, or sit through all of it, are welcome to hang out upstairs.

Spring Vegetables

As we approach the equinox, we enter the ‘hungry gap’ time, when we’re between winter and new spring crops. New season’s carrots should be in soon and we hope that purple sprouting broccoli will keep going for a couple more weeks.

No vegetable is more evocative of springtime in Britain than squeaky-leaved Spring cabbage, which is great when combined with mashed potato, aka ‘bubble’. Bubble ‘n’ squeak is typically a dish of refried leftovers whereas Colcannon is traditionally made from shredded kale, or cabbage, and mashed potatoes. This Spring, why not add another dimension by making your mash with celeriac?

Celeriac mash is best made by mixing the root half & half with potato. A good tip for making unlumpy mash is to use a ricer like this one. If you can suggest other variations, do let us know.

How do we do it?

Yeast & Gluten Free, Marigold Liquid Aminos is a versatile and all purpose seasoning. A natural enhancer of soups, dressings, stews, casseroles, it is ideal for stir fries and marinades. Liquid Aminos is a perfect substitute for soya sauce & a good source of vegetarian protein. Fareshares sells 250ml bottles for £2.70, a full 70p cheaper than its Recommended Retail Price!

FareShares Finances

FareShares finances continue to be precarious and our overheads are now around £350 each month. Sooner than increase our slender profit margins and put prices up, we ask supporters of FareShares’ project to provide healthful & unadulterated food at minimal cost to set up a regular standing order. If a hundred people gave £3.50 each month, we’d be sorted!

Not only will standing orders ensure regular income, which will reassure our banker, but they also demonstrate FareShares users’ committment to the project, which may impress our landlord, Southwark Council. If you receive a regular wage and have a bank account, please consider donating just a few quid each month, or quarterly, to:
FareShares Food Co-operative,
Unity Trust Bank a/c no: 20151434
Sort code: 08-60-01

Old Bags!

Fareshares encourages its users to use their own bags to cart home their groceries, but we also supply recycled bags that you bring in. Standard-sized carriers and clean smaller bags, such as those dispensed in the fresh produce sections of supermarkets, are useful and welcome.

However, some people bring us big bags of bags, stuffed inside one another, and even bits of old food packaging, which are of no use. We can’t take the time to sort them out, so tend to dump these unwanted bags in the re-cycling skips across Crampton Street.

It has been suggested that FareShares should stop accepting, or providing, polythene bags. Before we go that far, let us beseech you good people to work with us. Please sort your bags out and don’t bring us bags that are not either (a) regular carriers or (b) smaller food bags that may be used for beans and grains, etc. Thanks!

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